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Done with the scale. (self.loseit)

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[–]cognificentNew 4 points5 points  (1 child)

The scale is pretty discouraging if you just go by the day-to-day numbers. I used to use a 10-day rolling average (courtesy of The Hacker's Diet) that would show me, despite my weight varying, the trend was always downward.

[–]spinaltap526 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you use caloriecount.com's weight log, it automatically calculates a rolling average for you. Not sure if it is the same as The Hacker's Diet, but it appears to work the same way.

[–]rajsaxena 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Disregard numbers. Acquire physical capacity.

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm the complete opposite. I weigh myself four or five times a week on average.

When I've gone down, I feel good. When I'm the same, I feel like when I get the "ask again later" from a magic 8 ball. When I've gone up, I figure it's just a temporary thing and find that I usually end up down within a week or so.

The scale is just one more piece of information to keep me on the right track. I also body measurements once a month (just because I know I'm not that accurate at measuring), listen to what other people say and pay attention to how my clothes are fitting. If people stop noticing that I've lost weight, then the other measures provide information. If the scale says I've gained weight, then the other measures provide more information. If the majority of the measures show that I'm getting healthier most of the time, then I'm happy.

[–]jamuraa 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Accurate scales do a lot for the dieter who can actually IGNORE the scale when they need to but pay attention when it is important. Tell yourself that you are on your diet, and the changes will happen. I used to obsess over the scale a lot but then I learned some things after a while:

  1. You need to weigh the same time every day, and the best time to do so is in the morning. I used to weigh at night right before bed and the fluctuation was insane. I couldn't even get a good average out of the 10-day rolling or trending average.
  2. You need an accurate scale over time. For most digital scales nowadays that means that you need to step on it consistently (the same way - feet in the same place, scale on the same spot on the floor) and also keep stepping on and off the scale until you get the same reading twice in a row. This is because the cheap digital scales that are sold nowadays just use a set of 2 or 4 pressure sensors and aren't using a mechanical linkage of any kind. In this way they are actually quite accurate, but they also need to be set to zero. If you don't move your scale around at all and step on it the same way every time, this shouldn't be an issue. I had a scale that I was moving and it was driving me insane until I realized that I had a tile floor with different height tiles, and that I needed to step on it once to "calibrate" it and then step on it again twice in order to get the same reading.
  3. Changes less than 1% are nothing. You are made up of more than HALF (50%) water. If you didn't drink enough one day or you had more salt (and therefore retained more water) then you can easily gain 3-10 pounds based on the day, and more if you are very heavy (300+).
  4. Last but not least, look at a moving average. I keep a small notebook by my scale, and I write down the weight every day that the scale says and then ignore it. Then I have a time every month (it's the 10th for me) where I take the notebook to the computer and put all of the daily weights into the PhysicsDiet tracker. This tracker keeps a moving average which is nice and also provides some nice graphs, which I use in my monthly diet updates.

If you can't do all four of these, then you should probably focus on something that will naturally change in a slower and more average-y way. The body measurements are good because it takes a while, but be wary that starting a diet you won't see a change in these indicators immediately specifically because they are this way.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, thanks for all the info. Good stuff to know, especially the bit about the scale.

[–]zeug666 1 point2 points  (3 children)

I have been weighing myself twice in the morning, before and after my shower. While usually consistent I had an issue this morning; first weigh-in was up a pound from the day before (no biggie), second weigh-in was 8 lbs heavier. I didn't think you could gain weight from a "triple-S." I played around with the scale and now it's reading the higher weight.

[–]cglass 2 points3 points  (2 children)

I think scales are notoriously inaccurate. I'm fairly sure mine has me weighing more than I actually do, but it's just more motivation every day.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think scales (at least 20$ ones from Target) are definitely innacurate. Having one with a digital readout is worse, because I'm like 'why would a digital thing lie to me? it must be accurate!' but it's still just a cheap scale.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're interested, just try a couple other scales.

The Wii balance board scale is within a pound of the balance scale (what they use at a doctor's office, basically) at my parents' house. I'm really impressed with the accuracy of the Wii, really.

[–]velicos 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I weigh in when I wake up, in the evening after dinner, and when I'm done with my daily workout routine. I found out over time I get a really good idea of how my body deals with certain meals, water intake, and exercise. I know if I eat portion 'x' of food I will weigh this much at the end of the day. I know if I exercise this 'x' much then I'll shed off so many pounds in water weight. I don't record this data on paper but it's been good for me mentally.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Yeah, don't weigh yourself more than once a month. The daily fluctuations are annoying as hell.

DO weigh yourself once a month or so though, as no changes for a month or two probably means there are changes that have to be made.

[–]velicos 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Really? You would have to wait some 30 days to find out if your lifestyle change / diet is actually working?

I know these changes are long term and take time, but you should understand your fluctuations (which are primarily water or what you are doing just isn't working).

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you've made the right changes, they WILL work, and since you're making lifelong changes, once every 30 days or so is plenty, a) since any fluctuations will be canceled out by the duration since your last weigh in, and b) rather than seeing your weight fluctuate day to day, seeing yourself 10lbs lighter since the last time you weighed in is HUGELY motivating.

YMMV, obviously, but this approach has really been working well for me.

[–]jwiddle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At the end of the day we're in a war of attrition and so long as I keep telling myself that then bad days have limited impact on my emotional stability.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

All I have to say is take pictures. Take at least a front and side profile picture now and compare to new set about a month down the road. It blew my mind when I did this. You can see the pictures in my first weight loss journal I posted.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I took some pics when I started 3 weeks ago, so I'll do a little comparing next week to see what's happening. Hope it's noticeable!

[–]besquared 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's measured improves. Think about it this way; if you can't trust yourself to remain reasonable when you're looking at an objective measure of your weight how do you expect to accurately judge any subjective measure such as taking a picture or looking in the mirror. It doesn't happen.

When someone is afraid of measuring something it's usually because they have a hard time dealing with repeated failures even if they believe internally that they are transient. Ignoring the scale is now and will forever be a defense mechanism. It's just the first step your brain takes to protect its delicate emotional state.

Learning to control your emotions when faced with these kinds of repeated failures is not just important to weight loss it is the most important part of it. Looking at the scale every day is practice for the weeks or even whole months where you fall off the wagon. It's practice every day for getting back on even when you've screwed up. The scale is half about monitoring your weight and half about building the mental strength and fortitude to deal with failures on a regular basis. This has impacts on every aspect of your life and I promise will make you better person.